A Hug
by gUILT-nA
Summary: ...have you ever been scared and all alone? I guess everybody can be weak, if I had more courage, I would've hugged you tight... -NejiHina oneshot-


**A/N:**_I'm dedicating this new NejiHina oneshot to the awesome PandaDragon for making such a cute little comic out of a part in my other fic!  
YAY!! I hope you and all other Hyuugacest fans enjoy!  
__I really tried _not_to make Neji seem out of character (sorry if he is!)  
Guess I'll get out of that whole OOC thing eventually. At least, I hope so...  
Anyway, I had Dakishimetai by Jungle Smile on repeat while writing this! I love that song!  
And one more thing, I'm not really much of a fan of ShikaIno or NaruSaku, those pairings are just for plot purposes-  
**Reviews really appreciated**! (even critical ones)_

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, I only support the awesome NejiHina ship!  
__  
_-.-.-.-

Hinata sat down to breakfast before it was off to another day of training. That was all she'd been doing for a solid week and her body was completely tired out. All of a sudden the bowl of rice seemed to be getting closer to her face... _That's... weird..._ She thought with a yawn. A few seconds later she found herself snoozing in her food.

"Hinata sama you should use chopsticks instead. There much more effective." Neji walked by her, picking up his bowl and taking it outside.

She blushed out of habit then wiped the sticky grains from her face, following. "Neji nii san..." She started as they both sat under a tree to finish eating. "Is it- alright if I skip training today?" She asked in her usual quiet voice.

"Hinata sama," She squeezed her eyes shut as he stood up and reached out towards her, expecting him to be mad, "you've been working hard so-" he pat her on the head, "you could use a break." She smiled, wanting to hug him, but her nerve told her no.

_If I had more courage nii san... _She thought, still smiling up at him.

-.-.-.-

Since she was free for the day, Hinata didn't really know what to do, so she walked down the street, waiting for something to fall into her lap. "Ah Hinata!" She turned around to see none other than Konoha's # 1 ninja.

"Ohayo N- Naruto kun..." She said, looking down at her feet. She didn't like to be singled out, especially in a crowd and especially by Uzumaki Naruto.

"Hinata," He held out a bouquet of flowers out to her, causing a familiar bright red blush to heat up her face. "if you see Sakura chan, could you give these to her for me? I kind of have somewhere to go so..." The blonde grinned at her in his usual goofy way. With her bangs covering her eyes and the threat of tears, Hinata ran. "Wonder what her problem was." Naruto cluelessly went off to find Sakura himself.

Hinata sat against the side of the nearest building, her shoulders shaking as she cried just a little. Why did she feel this way? She was so upset that she didn't notice a pair of familiar white eyes watching her from across the street behind a tree. They saw everything.

He wanted to hug her. Strange that he'd never felt something like that before, the need to comfort her, stop her tears. _If I had more courage Hinata sama... _He thought, his sad eyes turning away.

-.-.-.-

She sniffled one last time, then got up. "Maybe... Neji nii san was right," She said aloud, thinking back to the chuunin exams, "I'm- weak."

"Hinata chan? Are you alright?" She was suddenly face to face with another blonde. This one quite different from the other one.

"Oh, I'm fine Ino chan..." Which wasn't completely true.

"You aren't busy today then are you? I could use some help at the flower shop and I know you love to garden." Ino looked hopeful.

"Of course!" Hinata smiled. She would do anything to get her mind off of what happened. So they headed back to the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

"My dad is gone on vacation so I really don't have anyone else." Ino explained as they walked in. The first thing Hinata noticed was the potted plants everywhere. More than she remembered seeing before. The platinum blonde laughed nervously, "A new jutsu I tried got a little out of hand and the plants grew like crazy. I'm running out of places to put them all."

She picked up a watering can and gave it to the Hyuuga. "Could you please get the plants on this side of the room?" Ino pointed to the left. "I'll get the other."

Hinata nodded, starting in the far corner. As soon as Ino got herself a watering can and started on her side, the bell above the shop door jingled, signaling someone coming in.

"Ino." Hinata looked up at Nara Shikamaru.

"Hm?" Ino, recognizing the voice, didn't glance up from her job.

"Hokage sama wants to see you." He said, walking up closer to her and bending down so they were eye level, "And we're going for bar-b-que later as always. It's on me since..." His face seemed to get sadder. Ino stopped watering. Hinata knew what they were thinking about. _Asuma sensei._Then Shikamaru left, and Ino finally stood up straight.

"If I... had more courage I would..." Hinata heard her whisper as she watched a sad Shika walk by the large shop window.

-.-.-.-

"Guess I better go over to Hokage Tower." Ino spoke up, putting down the watering can. "You can leave too Hinata chan, I'm going to close up for the rest of the day."

"Oh, ok Ino chan..." Hinata put down her watering can.

"Thank you for your help though!" Ino smiled as they left out and parted ways on the sidewalk.

Now Hinata wandered towards the bath house. If she should do nothing else that day, relax, relax, relax. Yet she felt her feet keep moving, past the bath house and onto the bridge. Looking out at the waterfall, she realized everyone felt weak sometimes. Though she wondered if even her invincible nii san, who was always strong for her, felt that way. She was thinking of where he would be...

Neji sat on the roof of one of the many taller buildings in Konoha, staring into the blue distance. He couldn't quite place what he felt for Hinata, his own cousin. Seeing her that day sad and alone, on top of it all, him not being able to do anything, made him realize. His desire to always watch over her might be something more. Did she feel the same?

Such an absurd question. Why? Why would she? Only one way to find out, a part of his mind told him.

He sat for a few more minutes, his expression and thoughts blank. Then he jumped down, running as fast as he could to find her.

-.-.-.-

She channeled her chakra into her feet, walking on the surface of the water to the waterfall. She was somewhat mesmerised by it, though there was nothing really amazing about the crystal clear water flowing from a stream above her.

She saw her reflection in it. As she reached up to touch the mirror image, Neji appeared behind her. At first she thought she was imagining it. His stare seemed to convey all of her same feelings. "Nii san...?" She turned around and saw him standing on the bridge. She smiled though she didn't know why and made her way to him.

"Hinata- sama." His heart was pounding as she came closer, now standing the length of the bridge away from him.

"I have enough courage now nii san." She said, walking up to him and putting her arms around his waist, holding him tight.

_So do I Hinata sama. _He smiled, hugging her back.


End file.
